How to Choose the Best Learning Management System (LMS) for your Business

Training and the Bottom Line

Businesses looking for a systematic way to bring partners, vendors, customers, and employees into your corporate culture and train on specific tasks are turning to learning management systems. A learning management system (LMS) is web-based technology or a software application to systematize learning. Use the tool to plan, implement, and assess a specific learning process. An instructor can deliver content, monitor learner participation, and assess performance all in one online system.

5 Advantages of Using a Learning Management System

A learning management system offers a variety of benefits to organizations of any size.

Content in one location. This simplifies storage and device use. Every member has easy access and eases online collaboration.

Unlimited access to learning materials. Trainees and elearners can access material 24/7. Because learners do not miss sessions the system enhances learning speed and comprehension.

Reduces learning and development costs. Eliminates travel, printing, and site rental fees. All material is online.

Provides instant flexibility to course curriculum. Trainers can revise and add content at one central point. Then everyone can access the content from one central point.

Additionally, a learning management system can update all compliance instantly with any changes or additions. And, as an online central contact point for trainees the LMS can direct learners to private discussion groups like Facebook, or social media such as twitter for further contact.

Modern Solution for Evolving Business

The business work environment is changing. The growth of remote work has grown 103% in the past 10 years according to FlexJobs. And, according to a New York Times survey, it’s a trend that we can expect to continue as companies continue to embrace remote workers. More and more companies are turning to contractors, partners, and a non-traditional workforce to help them meet business objectives. On the other hand, businesses are also realizing the power of investing in customer training.

Educating your partners, customers, and employees on business systems and technologies is paramount to thriving in today’s competitive business climate. The modern business environment demands straightforward, easily accessible training tools found with a learning management system.

10 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Learning Management System for Your Business

The right choice of an LMS system begins with determining the training needs of your business. Accessibility for everyone, instant tracking and reporting, and the ability to make changes instantly are keys to a workable LMS for your business.

Before your business searches for the right LMS, consider the current needs for training and development and remain open to consider changes you hadn’t thought of as you research the right learning system for your business.

1. Stored on the Cloud

Cloud storage reduces the need for IT involvement, provides backup, and hosts the program securely. Keep all of your business learning materials in one place where they can be accessed both by trainers and learners at any time, anywhere. The business saves money by minimizing IT expenses such as installing, maintaining, and backing up software.

2. Detailed Reporting

A solid learning management system will stand strong with a variety of reporting areas to facilitate training.

Progress and completion rates - facilitating trainers can moderate individual progress and completion for each learner.

Learner participation and engagement - Details such as when individuals take part in the course and how often. Low participation rates can indicate a call for course improvement.

Assessment results - Provides feedback on how effectively the course conveys information and helped the learner achieve the desired outcome.

Overview - a complete picture of participant progress, performance, and completion. This is helpful in identifying strengths and weakness of a course.

Time logs - detail how long it takes a participant to complete a course. Help to determine which aspects of the course challenge learning participants.

Learner retention rates - quizzes, questionnaires, and polls give feedback from learners on the efficacy of the course.

3. Easy and Intuitive Functionality

A well-developed and structured LMS will be easy to use for instructors. Uploading files and videos, creating quizzes and questionnaires, connecting to outside resources such as groups, and reading reports need to be easy to understand and immediately accessible. For learners, quick and easy access to all the components of the training anywhere at anytime is paramount to ongoing participation.

4. Integrates with Your Business Systems

Integration with your business system can help make business processes more efficient and support key tasks like streamlining reporting through a single system, for example. A learning management system that integrates into your business systems, usually through an application program interface (API), can help you automate workflow or set trigger events. Additional features like Single Sign On (SSO) and embedded players allow your training participants and trainers to have a seamless experience from sign on. These integrations can help learners focus on the training experience that you’re trying to create and minimize the time trainers spend managing administrative tasks.

5. Meets Corporate Training Requirements

If your business requires certification for course completion or issues rewards for investing time into the training, an LMS should offer ways to generate certification on course completion and notify trainers when rewards are due on completion.

6. Supports Blended

Additionally, a learning management system can update all compliance instantly with any changes or additions. And, as an online central contact point for trainees the LMS can direct learners to private discussion groups like Facebook, or social media such as twitter for further contact.

Learning

Blended learning supports the transition from traditional classroom to online learning. Introducing online learning in conjunction with live events helps affirm knowledge presented in a live environment. Giving learners access to online learning can support retention.

7. Allows You to Use Existing Content

Nobody wants to reinvent the wheel. A Learning Management System allows trainers and facilitators to incorporate existing material quickly with file uploads of current training materials. Upload files, videos, charts, quizzes and all your existing materials to one central location, then share with everyone. Make sure that when files are brought into the LMS, the content keeps it’s styling integrity.

8. Mobile Learning Options

One of the great benefits of an LMS, is the ability to access material from mobile devices. Learners and trainers both can access course material wherever they are no matter what their time zone. The best online systems facilitate easy addition of course materials like videos, and 24/7 access for learning at their convenience.

9. Custom Corporate Branding

A learning management system that allows corporate branding keeps the business forefront with learners by developing and maintaining corporate culture awareness. Training modules are quickly identified with the business with in-house branding. Franchise chains can use this aspect to help distribute brand consistency to all participants.

10. Set workflow and triggers

With strong reporting inherent in the system, an LMS can easily set workflows for a sequence of courses, set triggers for certification renewals, and other sequenced learning. This automation reduces the workload for trainers giving them more time to focus on course development and learner progress.

Your business may not need all these functionalities. One of the benefits of a learning management system is that you can tailor the components to your business needs.

The Right Tool for Training

A well-structured learning management system facilitates the needs of diverse learning situations. An LMS goes beyond workforce training to provide:

A business can communicate learning a variety of aspects of doing business with the company. You can use the system to supply information in easy to understand and access formats in one central location. Global companies will appreciate one centralized location to educate teams and vendors across the globe. Use the base material to present in several languages communicating the learning material for clear understanding.

The Answer to Business Learning

A comprehensive learning management system is the solution for a wide variety of corporate communication. From compliance with government law to food safety in the kitchen or teaching globally diverse teams to use the same vocabulary when describing events or systems a learning management system automates numerous tasks for trainers.

Although all learning material is centralized on your LMS, you can customize access by setting courses for teams, setting a cutoff for open levels that trigger further learning based on success at the first level, or setting administrative access and different levels or in learning areas. A learning management system provides the system, you structure who has access to materials and when.

A monthly subscription service allows for clear budgeting with no unexpected delivery costs. Your LMS will improve bottom line cost management. Because the material is online printing, room rental, and trainer and learner travel expenses are a thing of the past.

A learning management system is the solution for modern business learning. Your business can proactively use technology to put their stories in front of the right audiences and make partner training an intrinsic part of their strategy.

Mindflash has helped more than 1000 customers to resolve training challenges through our proven learning management platform. We serve a broad spectrum of business enterprises. We can show you how to best use a learning management system within your corporate structure. Request your free demo today to see how we can deliver your message.